Vehicle

Review

Before you buy this car you should know that you are buying a plug in hybrid. This is different from most hybrid designs. This car's electric batteries can be recharged to give you (depending on how you drive) over 50 miles of range. This is what attracted me to this car - a relatively long range electric car with a ICE to back it up. If you're going for short (up to 25 miles) commuter trips everyday, then you may never use gas again. I found that I use the batteries when I'm in stop and go traffic and the ICE when I'm on the highway. The car gets excellent (42mpg) using the ICE on the highway where the engine is most efficient and the batteries are the least. The ability to switch to the most efficient mode is a big plus for me. The car looks great!

Vehicle

Review

I took the Chevy Volt for a test drive with my daughter, after my son had raved about his test drive. I've driven 3 Toyota hybrids for the past 13 years so admittedly I have a bias toward Toyotas. (Two Prius cars and one Camry hybrid.) I love the idea of the plug-in. I love that you can smoothly go back and forth between electric and gas. Snazzy blue color, cool instrument panel, great sound and climate control systems. However I have never driven a car with worse blind spots. The side views-- forget it. Twice I almost plowed into passing cars because I simply-- could not-- see them in the side view mirrors. The rear view is also blocked. Even the front was hard to see out of! I felt like I was driving half-blind. The car is far less comfortable than any of my Toyotas, and a Prius isn't exactly a luxury drive to begin with. Back seats are cramped-- the middle back seat is just a joke. Maybe you could use it to hold a few books or a single bag of groceries. Turning off the car I honestly couldn't tell if it was still on or off. And the "low fuel" warning had me just terrified. I don't know if my dealer was being stingy or if we were going through the electric charge in some major way, I'm not surprised they have the optional technology to tell you if you're about to hit something on the side or in front of you. Driving this Volt I felt like Mr. Magoo! Could not wait to climb back into my Camry hybrid!!!

Vehicle

Review

My wife and I purchased our new 2016 Volt Premier in July 2016. We now have over 42,000 miles and nearly 14,000 miles just on gasoline when in hybrid mode, which is referred to as charge sustaining mode. Overall mpg just on gasoline since new has been 48.16 mpg, overall with electric and gas combined is nearly 148 mpg. With a full electric charge in summer range is 60+ miles, in winter 40+ miles. A full electric charge is $1.84 worth of electricity. My wife and I recently went on vacation down the Oregon Coast via Highway 101 to northern California. We left our home with just one full charge of electricity, and never charged during the entire trip. Total trip 775.9 miles, 78.4 on electricity from that one full charge, 53.4 mpg for miles traveled just on gas not counting the 78.4 miles on electricity of course. MPG on gas is calculated by miles driven on gas and gas consumed, not by the gauge that read for the trip 52.5 mpg. Our Volt was fully loaded with the 2 of us and the vehicle weight per Oregon Dept. of Transportation vehicle scale was 4,150 lbs. For comparison we also have a 2010 Prius. The mpg on the Prius is nearly comparable to the mpg on our Volt when operating just on gasoline. Comfort for front passengers is fine, however not for a normal size adult for an extended period of time. The hatchback design gives you plenty of room for my wife and I to pack and still have room left over for anything we wish to take back with us. The Volt runs on 100% electric the gas motor will not start to give you additional propulsion power, which will happen with the Prius Prime, Hyundai Ioniq plug in hybrid, and Honda Clarity, when you operate those vehicles for maximum power. We like our Volt enough to purchase another when the time comes

Vehicle

Review

Never ending issues since I purchased brand new. After about a year, three times the car wouldn't start, then finally the dealer changed the battery & it was fine for a while. Lately, about every 2-3 months, the check engine line comes on and I get a diagnostics message that there's something wrong with the emissions system & to get it serviced within a day. Otherwise the car is a lot of fun to drive. Reliability completely sucks - such a time sink, spending so much time taking it to the dealer (while not being given a rental, even though every single time it was covered under warranty) and Chevy doesn't seem to be able to resolve what's wrong with it! I do not recommend, and wish I should have just stuck to a Honda! Oh also a few times I took it in, they told me there was a recall, but I was never notified of the recalls.